Alicia had not, as far as I know, sat on the board of the MacArthur Foundation or done anything whatsoever to ingratiate herself with them. Also, though we all know Alicia, she was not by any stretch a household name even among people who follow poetry.
As far as the insinuation that my attitude is somehow a judgment about Sharon Olds' poetry, you are making a wrong assumption simply to impugn my criticism of the system that gave her the award. I happen to respect her work, and I can even remember a poem or two of hers that made a strong impression on me decades ago. In my opinion, she has indeed been a major and important voice in American poetry. But she does not therefore need a handout from contributors who presumably would like to see their money used to promote poetry rather than for celebrity poets to exchange expensive gifts.
PS--
I now see that the Chancellor part may have changed your views, so I'm sorry for saying you were impugning my comments.
Last edited by Roger Slater; 09-08-2016 at 10:24 AM.
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